Chapter Thirty-Two
Lauren
I want Nikolai to be here, but he can’t be.
My relief is short-lived, quickly turning to terror. I look up at his face, drinking him in like it’s the last time.
This is the first time I have seen him working. I must say, he puts on an impressive show. How he managed to get past the heavy security that guards this building is beyond me.
He must have abandoned his trademark black jacket on his way over here.
A white linen shirt drapes from his shoulders, the material half-unbuttoned.
The sleeves have been rolled back to the elbows, exposing his strong, tattooed forearms. His disheveled hair flies in the light breeze that keeps whistling through the gaps in the shipping container.
I see the pained look in his eyes as he meets my gaze, but right now, the pain is masked with something else—cold fury.
Anger tenses every muscle in his face, his jaw set firm, his cheekbones popping even more than usual.
I notice a droplet of sweat fall from his brow, his dark brows knitted together as he concentrates on his enemy.
Aslanov is still standing at the edge of the shipping container, clearly taking satisfaction in all of this.
That’s when Nikolai lunges forward, pulls out the gun that has been hidden in the side pocket of his pants, and—
The weapon crashes to the floor. Two of Aslanov’s armed men step up behind their leader, fixing their weapons on Nikolai.
Another two flank him from both sides and one of them manages to kick the weapon out of his grasp.
The other one comes up behind him, pressing the muzzle of his gun against the back of his head.
No!
I also feel something cool and solid touch my skin. I chance a look, keeping my head still. In my peripheral vision, I see Aslanov come up behind me, the muzzle of his gun pressed against my head.
That’s when the hyperventilating starts. I shut my eyes, focusing on calming down my breathing, but I can’t. He’s going to shoot all of us, killing me, Nikolai, and our baby. One minute alive, the next, dead.
Fear roots me to the chair. Even if the zip ties were cut, I still don’t think I’d be able to move. One twitch, one small motion—it could be the end of everything.
“Niko,” I say his name through gritted teeth.
He looks at me and tenses when he realizes that Aslanov is no longer standing where he was before. Slowly, he turns around, his eyes glassy with terror and rage when he sees him holding his gun to my temple.
Then, his eyes flicker to me, filling with even more pain.
“Don’t worry, Niko,” says Aslanov, the gun pressing harder into my skull.
My heart skips a beat. He’s an inch away from pulling the trigger.
One inch away from ending my life and my child’s.
“It’s you I want. Your woman is only collateral.
” I can’t see his face but I sense him smiling.
He must enjoy seeing Nikolai deprived of all his power.
I shut my eyes, consumed by regret. This is my fault.
Niko warned me several times to stop digging for answers about Mom’s death.
It would appear that I left a trail, one Aslanov and his men must have been following.
While I was digging into the trenches of my father’s archives, Aslanov was digging into me.
The pieces are only starting to come together now, but it’s already too late.
It would seem that Ronan Aslanov and my father have been working together for some time.
I still don’t entirely understand the nature of this sick alliance they have.
All I know is that at some point, my father approached Aslanov for involvement in his organization so that he could get more money in the bank.
Only so much can be made legally at the end of the day.
Their alliance is one of power. They’re both just as hungry for control as the other.
I sink in my seat, suddenly feeling the weight of the world take over me. To these people, all I am is a device. A tool to be used against Nikolai so that he can be taken down.
I release a shaky sigh, the weight of my regret building up inside of me so much that I feel sick to my stomach. It’s thanks to my own stubbornness that we’re here today, Nikolai seconds away from losing everything he’s built.
Dammit, Lauren!
Look at what you’ve done!
You should’ve just dropped it!
You should’ve listened to Nikolai and gotten over yourself!
So many ‘should haves’. In life, there are only two things you can never get back. One is time, the other is a hand once it has been played.
I flick my eyes back up to Nikolai, forcing my body to keep still.
Something twitches in his jaw. There’s only a thread of self-restraint left, and he’s holding onto it with all of his strength.
I can tell that he wants to flip this shipping container upside down and end this, but as long as Aslanov has his gun to my head, the power remains out of reach.
The tense silence is broken as two more men appear, dragging a third behind them.
They walk straight past Nikolai, entering the shipping container.
All that’s left of the sunset is a dark purple cloud.
Visibility is limited, but I can just about make out Timur’s features behind the two men.
His arms have been tied behind his back, and as he steps closer, I notice something shiny on his forehead that I mistake for sweat.
It’s actually blood.
I watch Nikolai curl his hands into fists, his fingers so flexed that I hear one or two of them crack. Keeping his head still, he shifts his eyes toward Timur’s direction, catching his attention like he’s instructing him to remain still.
The two men move closer to me, tugging Timur behind them like they’re walking a dog. One of the thugs produces a chair from the corner and sets it next to where I’m sitting.
“Sit,” orders the man.
Timur looks up from his forehead with a pissed-off expression before he is forced into the chair. He lands with a crash beside me.
We exchange a tense look.
Suddenly, I realize what’s going on here. Me. Timur. He’s going to give Nikolai some sort of sick ultimatum.
My heart beats rapidly in my throat. It’s a shame teleportation doesn’t exist in this world.
I could make use of some futuristic tech right now.
I don’t think that would change our circumstances, though.
Aslanov would continue tracking us forever, never giving up until he got what he wanted.
We could escape today but it wouldn’t change anything in the long run.
All it would do is delay the inevitable.
I catch Timur looking up at Nikolai from the chair, mouthing, “I’m sorry, boss.”
He gives a subtle shake of his head. “It’s okay.”
A clap jolts me, increasing my pulse even more. The cold muzzle of the weapon has been dropped from my temple, so I allow a sigh of relief to exit my mouth.
It doesn’t make me feel any more relaxed, though.
“Now, then.” Aslanov strides center stage.
“Let’s give a warm welcome to Nikolai’s two most precious friends.
” I follow his gaze and see that he’s addressing the half a dozen men standing outside of the shipping container, guns at the ready.
He’s theatrical. This is a performance for him.
Something for the rest of his men to be entertained by.
“Hold on a minute.” He brings a finger to his cracked lips.
“I suppose I got that wrong. You don’t exactly impregnate your friends.
” Ronan turns to me, my breath hitching.
“I think it’s clear that you and Nikolai are a little more than just friends.
Tell me, Miss Watson.” He inches closer. “What exactly are you to him?”
I feel Nikolai’s stern eyes on me.
My unspoken answer is interrupted by Aslanov’s cackling.
“I see. You haven’t even had a conversation about it yet.
Interesting.” He turns to Nikolai, taking a step.
“But you came here to save her, didn’t you?
That means something.” He sucks in a breath.
“And it’s not just her anymore.” A step back closer to me.
“There’s also a child growing in her, am I right?
” I shudder as he runs the barrel of his gun over my stomach.
“Your offspring Niko, daddy’s little girl. ”
He knows that we’re having a daughter?
How?
How the hell does he know?
Nikolai’s face takes a turn for the worse. His jaw clenches even harder than before now, his fists curled so tightly into his palms that it wouldn’t surprise me to see blood trickling down. I know what he’s thinking—how dare he speak about our daughter.
“If you lay a hand on Lauren, I will rip out your throat with my bare hands,” he grits out, his voice coming out as a low growl.
Aslanov’s head tilts and his mouth pulls into a smile.
He steps forward, the gun swaying about in his hand like it’s a toy.
“That’s not very nice, Niko.” The amusement fades.
“Besides, you’re not exactly in a position to make threats, now are you?
” He raises his eyebrow knowingly, pointing the muzzle of the gun my way again.
Nikolai starts for him, raising his fist, but stops when he sees Aslanov point his weapon my way. “You kill me, one of my men will kill her. And you will watch both her and your unborn child bleed out. See, Niko? There is no way out of this.” The smile returns to his face.
“Enough with the games, mudak,” Nikolai snaps. “What is it you want?”
“It’s not about what I want anymore, Niko,” is the answer. “Not when I can have anything I want. It’s about what I’m going to do.”
Nikolai tenses his shoulders.
“I’m going to take everything from you,” says Aslanov, almost casually. “And I’m going to make your woman and your friend watch.”
A lump forms in my throat. I swallow but the size of it is like a golf ball. My breathing hitches, my eyes catching sight of the gun again in Aslanov’s calloused hands.
Silence stretches in the room. Even the thugs outside are silent, their bodies still as they anticipate whatever is about to unfold.
Aslanov gestures toward a table in the corner and the dark object on it. I recognize the piece of metal as a gun.
“A Magnum forty-five,” he tells Nikolai, confirming my earlier suspicion.
I don’t know much about guns, but I can gather from the look on Nikolai’s face that the weapon can do a lot of damage. His jaw is still clenched. He simply watches Aslanov, the sweat gone from his brow. He looks cold. It’s like the rage disappeared and he’s calculating what’s next.
“There are two ways we can do this.” Ronan tucks away his own gun and clasps his hands together, his footsteps echoing around the metal container walls.
“Either you do it yourself, or I’ll do the honors.
You do it yourself, your girl and your friend walk away.
If you don’t, none of you are leaving this building alive. ”
Another silence extends. Longer than the one before.
Wind whistles between the gaps in the metal.
It’s completely dark now. The moon shines bright in the sky, casting a silvery light down into the room.
It outlines the edges of the gun sitting on the table, and Aslanov’s sharp chin as he circles around all of us like a hungry vulture.
What does he mean by that?
Does he mean…?
Is he offering for Nikolai to take his own life to save ours?
“Not in front of her.” Nikolai says, understanding the request.
My blood freezes. Does he actually mean what I think he does? Is he willing to die?
No!
I press my feet into the ground as much as my zip ties allow me, restraining myself from lashing out.
I want to scream at the top of my lungs, break free and punch Aslanov’s face until my fists bleed, but I can’t.
And even if I could, doing that wouldn’t save Nikolai.
It wouldn’t save our baby. So, I settle on staring at him, remembering all of his beautiful features, his tall muscular frame, broad shoulders, chiseled jaw, and ocean eyes.
I have refused the truth for so long, but now it has been made crystal clear to me.
It’s him.
The one I want.
My lover, the father of my child.
It’s always been him!
Not evidence, not clarity—just Nikolai, the man I always wanted without realizing it. I can’t lose him now! I can’t have him die and sacrifice himself like this, not when my daughter and I both need him.
Aslanov studies him, smirking. “You know what? Have it your way, Niko. You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today.
” He walks towards the table and every cell inside of me hurts.
“Consider this my farewell gift to you.” Ronan snaps his fingers and two of his men standing outside enter, each taking one of Nikolai’s arms to drag him backwards, out of the shipping container.
Niko…
No!
God, please no!
The worst part about all of this is that he just lets them. He’s double the size of these two men combined—he could finish them in seconds, but he doesn’t. He just obeys, letting them take him, knowing that if he misbehaves, I suffer as a consequence.
He’s doing everything in his power to save you, Lauren.
He’s about to sacrifice his life for you!
Aslanov takes the gun from the table and follows behind with the rest of his men, leaving Timur and me alone. I turn to him and see terror spread across his face. I think about the wedding ceremony, me accusing him of murdering my mother. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Then, I think of Sophia. My heart breaks for her. This is the first time in her life that she has had something positive and stable, and now there’s a high chance that it’s all going to be taken from her. Just like Nikolai is being taken from me.
I watch Nikolai leave my sight for the last time and I can feel tears stream down my face. I shut my eyes and let them fall, shaking; bracing myself for the gunshot that is sure to kill me as well as him.
I don’t want to believe that this is it, but it is.
He’s going to take his own life to save mine and our unborn child’s.
I force my eyes open and look at the empty table where the Magnum previously lay, and a new wave of sadness crashes over me when I realize the inevitable.
Nikolai will never get to meet his daughter.
This was our last moment together.
And it’s my fault.
All of this is my fault.